Congregation Etz Chaim
34 Bacon Street
Biddeford, ME
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 1473
Biddeford, ME 04005
President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Mailing Address:
Congregation Etz Chaim
P.O. Box 1473
Biddeford, ME 04005
Physical Address:
Congregation Etz Chaim
34 Bacon Street
Biddeford, ME
We are the only synagogue in the world on “Bacon Street.” But when our precious shul was built on this street with the unforgettable name in 1874, it was built as an Episcopal church, with an adjacent bell tower.
In 1906, the church was bought by the local Jewish community. The bell tower was removed, and our notable large stained glass Jewish star above the bimah was added. The stained glass windows and the original “Rosette” architecture remain.
But we are much more than a building. We are a warm and thriving community of Jews. In 1906, the congregation was Orthodox. But over the years it has transitioned to Conservadox and then to Conservative. And now we are non-denominational, with no specific denominational affiliation.
Beth and I moved to Maine in 1982 from “away” (New York). We were excited to move to an area that had a synagogue. But at the time, its membership was decreasing with mostly “seniors.”
By 1990, we helped establish a small Hebrew School and Sunday School, as we started to grow our family. How times have changed.
I became an active adult Jewish learner. I teach in the Hebrew School/Teen Class and help lead services. Cantor Beth Strassler (her second career) is the first ordained spiritual leader in the Congregation Etz Chaim community in about 60 years. We have three adult children who have had their B’nei Mitzvahs in our shul, as have many others — too numerous to count. We offer High Holiday and Shabbat services, holiday events, and educational programs for children and adults. Cantor Strassler offers pastoral counseling and visits. In addition, we have a committee for community support.
But more important than anything else for me is that we are a wonderful community. As our mission clearly states: “We embrace people along the entire spectrum of Jewish practice and theology and welcome all who are interested in our community, regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, or formal religious affiliation.”
So welcome aboard. I hope to meet you soon, if I haven’t already. And if you would like to get involved, share with me your passionate interests and skills. I am reachable by email at president@etzchaimme.org.
David Strassler
President
Faye (Sandler) Cialfi has been a member of Congregation Etz Chaim since 2014. Raised outside the Boston area, she moved to Maine in 1983. Faye moved from Scarborough to Biddeford in 2012, at which time she found CEC. She was happy to find a local synagogue that is close to home and welcoming. While residing in Scarborough, she was a member of Temple Bet Ha’am for many years where her daughter was provided with a wonderful Jewish education and bat mitzvah. After joining CEC, she was fortunate to be nominated and voted in as treasurer.
Faye holds a B.S. and M.S. from the University of Denver and an Au. D (doctorate in audiology) from the Arizona School of Health Sciences (ATSU), division of Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, which she obtained in 2002. She has been an audiologist in the Portland and Biddeford areas, working for the Ear Nose and Throat group, now Maine Medical Partners Otolaryngology, providing hearing health care for the past 40 years. Most recently, she decided to spice up her career and transfer to the VA outpatient clinic in Portland to continue providing hearing health care to our veterans.
Faye is the proud mother of her daughter Abby and her new husband Matthew and grandmother to their dog Eddie who live In New Hampshire. Outside of work, Faye enjoys meeting up with old friends, meeting new friends, attending theater, and playing pickle ball on the weekends.
David Strassler has been president of Congregation Etz Chaim since 2013. He and his wife, Cantor Beth Strassler, have been members since 1982, when they moved to Arundel, Maine. He has “worn many hats” in our community, including teacher and lay-rabbi.
He was born in Brooklyn and, like many Jews of his era, is a first-generation American. His parents were born and raised in Poland, and he is the youngest of four boys. When he was two years old, his family moved to the suburbs of Long Island, New York, where they belonged to a large conservative shul. After high school, his journey took him to Buffalo, New York; Gainesville, Florida; York, Pennsylvania; and finally, to Arundel, where he and Beth raised their three children. David and Beth still live in the same house they purchased in 1982 in Arundel.
David and Beth have been instrumental in the re-Jew-vi-nation of Congregation Etz Chaim. When they first joined the community, the only activities at the shul were High Holiday services with a hired cantor and gatherings to say kaddish for community yahrzeits. They began their rejuvenation efforts by developing a Sunday School and Hebrew School with a small group of young Jewish families in the community. Over the next several decades, David was integral to the cultivation of our robust Board of Directors. He takes a hands-on role in many synagogue activities, supervising several recent building improvements and working for many years in the development of Shabbat services, Torah study, and Teen Class.
From 1982 to 2011, David was a family practice doctor in Biddeford. Since he has retired, he has taken a more active role in synagogue fundraising and activities. He enjoys the time he now has delving into learning the nuances of biblical Hebrew, and his ongoing Pirkei Avot classes are well attended, relevant, and lively. He enjoys spending time with his wife (which should be first on this list) and his family, riding his road bike, playing clarinet, and taking care of his vegetable garden.
Jack Schraeter has been a member of Congregation Etz Chaim since the early 1990’s. He was born in Springfield, MA, his family relocated to Brooklyn, NY when he was six. He went to school at Yeshivah of Flatbush. He comes from a long line of rabbis, whose roots were in Hungary. After high school, he escaped to SUNY at Albany and feels that the course which was most useful for him as an adult was “Butchering & Slaughtering”, which he took through one of SUNY’s Ag. Schools”. Jack is on our ritual committee, is our resident gabbai, and does our D’vor Torah for Shabbat Services.
Jack retired from Encompass Health/HealthSouth as their Director of International Programs with responsibilities including worldwide healthcare recruiting as well as managing the company wide visa program. Unwilling to retire completely, now Jack is a substitute teacher, grades 6-12 for the Yarmouth School Dept. He is also very active in his local rotary club.
Jack is married with 2 adult daughters. His wife Chris Simons has 2 daughters as well. He’s also proud to kvell over his grandson and granddaughter. Jack and Chris make their home in Yarmouth.
Alan and his wife relocated to Southern Maine in the late 1970s and raised their family of three sons in Saco. He has served on the Board of Congregation Etz Chaim since the early 2000s. After a 40-year career as a child clinical psychologist, he is presently retired. Alan has a strong Hebrew and traditional Conservative Jewish background and has been honored for many years to read Torah for the Congregation at High Holiday Services. Over his long Board tenure, he has been a firsthand witness to the steady growth of our Congregation. He currently serves on the Ritual, Membership, and Community Outreach Committees.
Cynthia Kurtz has been a member of the Congregation Etz Chaim (CEC) community since the early 1990s.
When seeking options for Jewish community and education for her then two-year-old son, she was thrilled to discover this local gem of a synagogue. It was, and continues to be, a great fit for her family. In addition to its very warm and welcoming atmosphere, she was drawn to its unaffiliated nature embodying inclusivity and flexibility. What’s more, and importantly, its location allowed the family to stay in the York County community, rather than having to travel to the Portland area. Her son’s Hebrew school education at CEC culminated in his bar mitzvah in 2000.
Cynthia is a graduate of The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. In addition to living during college and for many subsequent years in the Washington and Northern Virginia areas, she has lived in Worcester, Massachusetts, where she was born and raised, as well as in Los Angeles and New York City. Professionally, her experience includes international business, banking, and publishing, with an emphasis on sales and marketing. She is currently on staff at the Kennebunk Free Library. Cynthia currently serves CEC on the Finance, Security, and Library committees.
Denise Hammond has been a part of Congregation Etz Chaim since moving to Maine in 2000. All four of Denise’s children have gone through the Sunday School, Hebrew School, and Teen Class and have become b-mitzvot at the synagogue. Denise is a social worker, graduating from the University Of New Hampshire with her M.S.W. in 1999. She has enjoyed focusing on supporting the Board by sitting on the Membership Committee and Education Committee and by supporting the creation of the Community Outreach Committee.
Elyse Oliver has served on the Board of Directors since 2020 as a member of the Finance Committee. She first joined the congregation as a Hebrew School student and celebrated her bat mitzvah at the shul. Professionally, Elyse works as a strategist, designer, and planner for local communities and the public sector. Much of her work has focused on program design, strategic planning, policy research, and operational assessments for non-profits, government agencies, and philanthropy. Elyse holds a B.A. in international studies and sociology from Johns Hopkins University and a master’s in city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has worked across a variety of urban, rural, and international contexts, and holds deep expertise in participatory planning and equitable development.
Frank Federman is “the facilities guy” for Congregation Etz Chaim and has been a member of our community since 2006 when he and his wife Linda moved to Kennebunkport.
He works to keep the hot water hot, the pipes from freezing in Winter, and changes the occasional light bulb.
Linda’s family belonged to an Orthodox synagogue, Frank’s to a Reform temple. Both appreciate the unaffiliated nature of our synagogue.
He has a B.S. in electrical engineering and developed home entertainment electronics products in the Boston area for many years.
Jessica Allen was raised in New Hampshire and moved to Maine in 2020. She joined the Board of Congregation Etz Chaim in 2021. She has since become the co-principal of the Family Education Program with her husband, Anthony. She is the mother of two girls, Eliana and Miriam Allen, and a 95 pound dog named Nashville. She is a lead insurance agent for a commercial insure tech company.
Leah and her husband Bill joined Congregation Etz Chaim in 2010 after a friend insisted that they check out the Sunday School with their three young children. The excitement and comfort of Sunday School felt like home to Leah, and her husband and kids loved the people, activities, and atmosphere. Soon after, she enrolled her children in Hebrew School, made many lifelong friends, and all three had their b’nei mitzvot under the beautiful stained-glass star of David. Leah taught at the Hebrew School (the Alef Class) for several years and joined the Board of Directors in 2015. She has helped with numerous plays, seders, special community projects and events, deliveries of books, the CEC website, Facebook, Zoom technology, and more.
Leah received a B.A. in creative writing from Hamilton College (New York) and an M.A. in writing and publishing from Emerson College (Massachusetts). She taught English to college freshmen; then she taught computer software to adults and recently retired from a 25-year career in information technology. Currently she is learning about worldwide philanthropic causes and is actively engaged in organizations that support asylum seekers and refugees in Maine. Leah loves the CEC Women’s Book Club and spending time with her friends and family.
Shona Workman doesn’t remember her first time at Etz Chaim, as she was brought by her mother Stefanie Wayne-Workman as a baby. She does remember growing up in a warm and welcoming community that helped shape her Jewish identity and worldview. Shona began Sunday school lessons and then graduated first to Hebrew School and then Teen Class. Her childhood was shaped by Thursday afternoon bagel breaks, learning Hebrew and Jewish cultural lessons, and culminated in her Bat Mitzvah in 2005.
After graduating Hebrew School, Shona was ready to start on other languages and in 2007 completed her junior year of high school in Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert, France, through the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. After high school, she earned her undergraduate degrees in secondary education and French from the University of Maine and later her graduate degree in international education and intercultural relations from Lesley University. She has spent much of her professional life teaching modern languages in middle and high school as well as working with international, refugee, and asylee students in higher education. She is passionate about experiential education, travel, and music. She lives with her fiancé in Saco and enjoys serving the community a CEC Board member.
Jeff Levy first heard about Congregation Etz Chaim when taking his two young children to story time at the Dyer Library in Saco, when congregation member Stephanie Workman was reading Hannukah stories to the children. She shared that the synagogue had an active Sunday School and Hebrew School program. Jeff and his family joined the synagogue and have been active community members since 1999.
Etz Chaim has played a major role in the Levys’ family life, with their children celebrating their bar and bat mitzvahs with our community. Jeff’s wife, Adrianne, has served as the unofficial synagogue photographer and formerly as the newsletter editor. Jeff has been on the Etz Chaim Board since around 2009, having served on the Education, Security, and Facilities committees.
Jeff works professionally as a clinical social worker. He has developed an expertise in working with families in high conflict. He currently works as a therapist, a workshop instructor, and as a guardian ad litem.
Jennie Aranovitch is a fourth-generation member of Congregation Etz Chaim. In addition to her Board position as secretary, she chairs the Communications Committee, serves as the editor-in-chief of the congregation’s newsletter, York County Jewish Community News, and runs the Yahrzeit Services program. Additionally, Jennie serves on the Nominating Committee of the Maine Jewish Hall of Fame and formerly served on the board and as chair of the marketing and communications committee of the Biddeford Heritage and Cultural Center. The synagogue historian, Jennie, in 2006, spearheaded and curated an exhibit at the Saco Museum, “A Century of Jewish Life in Biddeford-Saco” in commemoration of Congregation Etz Chaim’s 100th anniversary. She is the co-coordinator of content on the Greater Biddeford region for the Documenting Maine Jewry project and is the author of “A History of Congregation Etz Chaim,” a chapter in the book Houses of Worship: Saco, Maine (2011). She was featured in a story by the Biddeford Cultural and Heritage Center’s Voices of Biddeford project, “Jennie Aranovitch — honoring family legacy and Jewish identity,” which is housed on the Maine Memory Network, a website of the Mane Historical Society.
Jennie holds a B.A. in English from Colby College and has over a decade of experience working as a communications and marketing professional, formerly as senior writer and editor at the University of New England and currently as the senior writer for the national higher education reform nonprofit Achieving the Dream. She is the mother of two children and a miniature Australian labradoodle. She resides in Biddeford with her husband and family.
Anthony Allen has been a Board member since 2021. He supports yiddishkeit charities and programs — local and abroad — including the Etz Chaim Family Education Program, which he runs with his wife, Jessica. Helping create a strong sense of Judaism and community in our younger congregants is his greatest priority. He is the owner of Sales Clique, a sales consulting agency, and resides on Lake Arrowhead with his wife and daughters.